sunburst platy temperature

Question
QUESTION: hi i am a begginer and i just purchased to sunburst platies (male) and they like to hang out by the bottom of the heater could this be because they feel the water is too cold or just because of the fact that its a place to hide as we havent put any larger ornaments into the tank other then two fake plants. if it is the temerature of the tank what is the best temperature to set the tank at?

ANSWER: Platy's like between 78 - 82 degrees... they may just be trying to find a place to hide ... but the question would be from what/who???  Platy's are schooling fish and very social.  What other kinds of fish do you keep in your tank?  and how big is your tank?  please let me know... dave

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: thanks Dave, that is the temp we have it set at (80). at the moment we just have the two platy's we are going to be getting more fish as well as a African dwarf frog. they are also new to the tank only been here for 3 days we haven't purchased any ornaments yet for them to hide in that is one of our next purchases but if you could think of any other fish that they will all go well with that would be great.

Answer
Hi Ian:  I think that by today your fish will start to be more social.  It sounds like they were a bit stressed. It is very normal for fish to get stressed during the purchasing ordeal... first someone has to catch them, bag them, and then they get dumped into a new tank without their tank mates....so in effect they were kind of hiding from the unknown... they should realize by now that they are ok and that the tank is safe.  This would be a good time to add more fish and a frog or two into the tank.  with schooling fish 4 is the minimum number to start with.  I realize that you are a beginner and please feel free to ask me any questions you may have... Keep me posted... dave